J.R.R. Tolkien:

The man was not very noticeable on the sidewalk. A fairly short man, no more
than 5í5" with scraggly gray hair on his head. His clothes were not that
fancy, though he had a colorful waist coat. Many people would brush past him,
dismissing him as some old man smoking a pipe. However, this man did not need
good looks nor fancy clothing. He had something no one else had, what millions
loved and respected, that is, the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien.

People praise him, worship him, respect and love him. His works have lived in
our hearts or nearly half a century. His tales of mighty kings, glorious
citadels, massive armies, and great battles have touched millions of people all
over the world. This author I am describing to you is none other than the
brilliant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. From the rolling plains of South Africa to
the muddy, bloody trenches of France in the First World War, this manís
history is nearly as impressive as the history in his books. On the night of
January 3, 1892 a child was born. The father-to-be called the doctor to tell him
that his wife was going into labor. However, the doctor was so sure that this
was a false alarm that he sent the nurse home and went to check on her by
himself. This call was not a false alarm, though, the mother was really giving
birth. After several hours of labor, Mabel Arthur gave birth to John Ronald
Reuel Tolkien. Arthur Tolkien, gave his son his first name, John, after his
grandfather. His mother gave him Ronald because she liked it. Finally, his
father passed down his own middle name of Reuel to him. In his later years,
J.R.R. Tolkien was called Ronald by many, though he did not care for it much
since he believed that Ronald was not his proper name. Many of his close
colleagues called him John Ronald, which made him sound like a high and mighty
man. Near the end of his life, many intimate friends of his began calling him
Tollers (Carpenter:13). The name that best suited him (according to many of his
fans) was the simple name of J.R.R.T. , which Tolkien did not mind at all.

Tokienís life in South Africa was short, but not uneventful. He had more
unusual events happen to him in four years than I have myself in 16! After being
christened in Bloemfontein Cathedral things began to get strange for little
John. First, Arthur Tolkienís trusty servant Isaak stole John and brought him
to his kraal[village] to show everyone the village the newness of the white baby
(Carpenter:13). Though a bit disturbed by his servantsí actions, Arthur
forgave him. In gratitude, Isaak named his first son "Isaak Mister Tolkien
Victor" after him. The events did not end there. John also had an unusual
knack for attracting the local wildlife. Once, a pet monkey from the house next
door snuck into the Tolkienís residence. Before being captured, it tore up
three of Johnís bibs (outfits). There was also the ever present danger of
snakes in their wood shed, so Johnís nanny made sure he did not stray near
there. However, the most life changing event of his life in South Africa
happened when he was just learning to walk. One day, John was in the garden
behind his house. While walking around he noticed a black object, resembling a
glove. Racing over to look at it, he tripped and fell right on it. This
particular black glove was actually a tarantula. The large spider bit him and
scurried off. Leaping to his feet, he ran across the garden, where he was caught
by his nanny who sucked out the poison. This little event carried with him
through the rest of his life. While not actually remembering the tarantula, he
always had spiders in his stories that were very twisted and evil.

This event and the terrible weather were beginning to wear on poor Mabel. Her
spirit was raised greatly when she found out she was pregnant. Nine months later
she gave birth to Johnís brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel. Unfortunately, her
spirits deteriorated again. After much thought, she decided to take the kids
with her on a trip back to England to visit her parents. Arthur, so swamped with
work, could not leave with them, but promised to leave as soon as possible and
meet them in England. Arthur never did get the chance, though, for he suffered a
severe hemorrhage on February 14, 1896. Arthur Tolkien died the next day.

Mabel Tolkien was overcome with grief. After the initial shock of her husbandís
death, she started to wonder about the future of herself as well as her two
children. She lived with her parents for a few years with her children. Most of
her economic support came from Arthurís and her families. Unfortunately, this
supply all but dried up when Mabel and the children converted to Catholicism,
which angered many family members (Strider:2). During this time, John, now 8,
was accepted to the King Edward VI School, but had to drop out due to lack of
funds. However, three years later, John won a scholarship and was able to
re-enroll.

Sadly, tragedy struck the Tolkien family. Mabel Arthur was diagnosed with
diabetes in 1904 and died shortly there after. Fortunately for the kids, Mabel
had entrusted their care with Father Francis Morgan. Father Francis encouraged
the boys studies, both in school and religious. During the years of 1905 to 1908
John and Hilary were shipped around. First they lived with a rather nasty aunt
of theirs. After that, Father Francis got them into a nice boarding home. It was
at one of these boarding houses where John fell in love with a beautiful young
girl named Edith Bratt, his future wife. However, Edith was three years older
than him, making this relationship forbidden. When they were discovered, Edith
was shipped away and John would not see her again until he left for war, three
years later. During this time, John was accepted to Oxford.

His years at Oxford before the war were pleasurable and full of excitement
for Tolkien. He had decided to study in the Classics, Old English, Gothic, Welsh
and Finnish. While in Oxford, he continued his ties with the fellow members of
the "T.C.B.S." (Tea Club Barrovian Society, named after the groupís
meeting place at the Barrow Stores) (Doughan:2). This group was started back
when he was still living with his aunt and attending King Edwardís School.
This small group of young writers would help each other out on social and
academic problems. However, their main purpose was to critically evaluate each
othersí works.

Despite all of his hard work and determination, Tolkien was only able to
achieve a disappointing second degree in Honour Moderations. However, he did
discover a poem that formed the basis of his future work:

Eala Earendel engla beorhtast
Ofer middangeard monnum sended.

Which means, "Hail Earendel brightest of angels, over Middle Earth sent
to men" . This Old English poem was the Crist of Cynewulf.

His relationship with Edith Bratt was going very well. After three years of
not seeing her, she converted to Catholicism and moved to Warwick. They spent
many years together, getting to know each other all over again. During this
lovely time of Tolkienís life, he decided to quit with the Classics at Exeter
and go into to English Language and Literature. He continued his studies through
the beginning of the First World War. His hard work and determination finally
paid off when he was able to achieve a first-class degree in Honour Moderations.

While he did not rush off to war as other enlightened thinkers did, he still
felt that the actions of Germany were evil. So, after obtaining his first-class
degree, he enlisted with the Lancashire Fusiliers as a second lieutenant. Before
he went to war, though, he went to do something he had wanted to do for many
years. On March 22, 1916 in Warwick, he married Edith Bratt. He then kissed her
good-bye and went to war. He spent many months in Staffordshire training and
after that he was stationed there on active reserve. Finally, he was put into
active duty on the western border of France (the Western Front) just in time for
the Somme offensive. While it was considered a "victory" for the
allies since they were able to recapture land that they had lost before it
caused more death and suffering than anything. While John was not killed in the
offensive, he suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder from the entire
experience and spent a month in a hospital in Birmingham. or trench fever, he
spent a month in a hospital in Birmingham. He was then well enough to go to
Staffordshire where he lived with Edith. During his time in Staffordshire, all
but one of his close friends of the "T.C.B.S." was killed in the war.
Partly out of pity and partly out of sorting the strange mess of feelings and
thoughts he had in his head, he began writing short stories. These short stories
eventually became the Books of Lost Tales which, in turn, became The
Silmarillion.

With his disease constantly recurring throughout 1917 and 18 he worked at
local military camps and performed home service, which got him promoted to
lieutenant. With the armistice signed in 1918, Tolkien was demobilized and sent
home. He soon fathered his first son, John Francis Reuel Tolkien in 1918, much
to his joy and delight. He then decided to move back to Oxford. While in Oxford,
he began to make inquiries for a job at the college. It was not long before he
found one. He was appointed Assistant Lexicographer on the New English
Dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary)(Doughan:2). The constant serious
atmosphere of writing the dictionary and the rather dry nature of the other
writers, Tolkien was constantly finding himself going back over his short
stories and editing them. He also began to write more. The short stories now
began to have a central plot. They began to tell of a world with elves and
gnomes. About the rise and fall of the gods and their children and a brooding
evil. He often read these stories before the Exeter College Essay Club, where
they were well received.

John could not stand working on the dictionary anymore and quit. So he was in
the job market again in the heart of summer in 1920. He soon found out that the
position of Reader (similar to an Associate Professor) (Doughan:2) in English
Language at the University of Leeds. So he applied for it, though he did not
expect to get it because that position usually went to a senior figure. Much to
the delight of Tolkien and his wife he got the job. So they packed up their
belongings and moved to Leeds. While at Leeds, he worked with E. V. Gordon on
the infamous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He also wrote and refined The
Book of Lost Tales. By this time, Tolkien had begun to write a history of
life on Middle Earth comprised of his short stories. He also created "elvish
tongue"(elvish language), which he used repeatedly in most of his works. He
and Gordon founded a "Viking Club". This was a club of undergraduates
that was devoted to reading the Old Norse sagas and drinking beer. During his
time at Leeds, he was blessed with two more children: Michael Hilary Reuel and
Christopher Reuel. While he loved his work in Leeds, he felt that he belonged in
Oxford. In 1925 his chance came when the Rawlison and Bosworth Professorship of
Anglo-Saxon at Oxford became vacant. Tolkien jumped at the opportunity to teach
at Oxford. He successfully applied for the job and moved back to the one place
he called home.

While he was relieved and thrilled that he now worked in Oxford, his
scholarly publications were few and unremarkable. He was more interested in the
origin of "Welsh" than writing stories or such at this time (he even
put aside The Book of Lost Tales for awhile). In 1926 Tolkien became a
Fellow at Pembroke College, where he taught. His academic career leveled off
there. He remained in this job until 1954 when he took up the chair to the
Merton Professorship of English and Language, where he stayed in until his
retirement in 1959. However, his social life was far from level. He was a
founding member of a group of Oxford men called "The Inklings".
Although this group could never replace the "T.C.B.S." in his heart,
Tolkien found much comfort in the group . Some of the more prominent members
were Neville Coghill, Hugo Dyson, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and above all
C.S. Lewis, who would become Tolkienís closest and most trusted friend. The
group would meet often for conversation, drink, and the works that the members
were working on.

Tolkien continued his story telling and writings throughout the late 20s and
early 30s when a monumental thing happened to him. He was busy one day
correcting exam papers when he came across a page that had been completely left
blank. For some reason, he still did not know what possessed him to do it, he
wrote on it, "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". Now, he
had to figure out what the heck a Hobbit was. His findings led him to write
little stories about a little guy, no more than a foot and a half tall, who
lived in a hole and was always merry. One of these stories found themselves in
the hands of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the publishing firm of George Allen
and Unwin.

Liking what she saw, she asked Tolkien if he could tell her more about these
"Hobbits". So after Tolkien told her everything he knew about them and
showing her more of his writings about them, she wanted Tolkien to write a
complete story about it. Once Tolkien had tied all of the short stories together
and completed them, Susan presented it before the Chairman of the firm, Stanley
Unwin. After reading it, he gave it to his 10 year old son, Raynor, to read it.
The child loved it and in 1937, Stanley published The Hobbit. The book
was an instant success and both kids and adults loved it. In fact, the book has
not left the recommended reading for children since then (Doughan: 3).

The book was so successful that Stanley asked Tolkien if he had any other
works along the same lines. Tolkien could not help but smile at the thought. So
he presented his large collection of short stories, which he now called Quenta
Silmarillion, or Silmarillion. Stanley looked over it and then gave
it to his reader for his insight. The readerís reaction was mixed: he strongly
liked and praised the writings, though he did not like the poetry or songs all
that much. So after much thought and deliberation, they decided that it was not
publishable. Tolkien was devastated that his work of over 20 years had been
rejected, but he agreed to still write a sequel to The Hobbit.

Tolkien put his Silmarillion away then for a long time and got to work
on the sequel. What happened next is history. For 16 years Tolkien poured over
information and stories. He spent hundreds of hours crunched over his typewriter
punching away. Raynor Unwin, now an adult, helped Tolkien out much in his later
work on this project. What he finished was a work that has touched millions. He
called it The Lord of the Rings. It was six books put into three volumes
and every volume started with the same poem:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Not to go into too much detail, I will now explain the plot of the series. In
The Hobbit, Bilbo found a magic ring that could turn him invisible. The
Lord of the Rings is based upon that ring that is believed to be the one
ring that could destroy all good and let evil reign throughout the land for all
time. So Frodo (Bilboís nephew) must take it to the Cracks of Doom to destroy
the ring, which will destroy the very embodiment of evil, Sauron. A group of
good are chosen to walk with Frodo to the Cracks of Doom. Led by the wizard
Gandalf, they are constantly being chased by the nine Nazgul (the above
mentioned Mortal Men) who have been corrupted by their rings and now serve
Sauron. They also find themselves fighting the forces of Saruman, the most
powerful wizard in the land who used to be good, but has been twisted and now
lusts for the ring. So, against all odds, a hobbit must single-handedly take on
the Dark Lord. A tale of love, war, and sacrifice.It was then and still
is considered a classic. Unfortunately, Tolkien did not feel that this sequel
would live up to the publicís expectations. The publishing company also
believed that it would not be successful, but still felt that they had to give
the readers what they had been waiting for 16 years. So, in 1954 and 1955, the
publishing company released the series, accepting what they knew would be a
failure. However, it seemed that both the author and the publishers had greatly
underestimated the seriesí appeal (Doughan:4).

The sales of The Lord of the Rings skyrocketed and became a best
seller almost overnight. Reviews ranged from the ecstatic (W.H. Auden, C.S.
Lewis) to the damning (E. Wilson, E. Muir, P. Toynbee) and just almost
everything in between (Doughan:4). The BBC put a condensed version of the series
on its radio station in 12 segments in 1956. The money was just pouring in and
now Tolkien had wished he had taken early retirement. The real money, though,
did not flow in until 1965. By this time, Tolkien had retired his professorship
at Oxford and was quietly living in Oxford. The Lord of the Rings had
been out for many years now, and Tolkien had become quiet wealthy and now wrote
little short stories, poems, and more histories and translations of Middle
Earth. Then Tolkien heard the news. His series had gone into pirated paperback
in the United States! At first he was angry, then he became flattered that
anyone would go to the extreme trouble of pirating his book. Now this really got
people into the books.

This new paperback version could now be found all over, not just in book
stores. Soon, millions of copies had been sold. This new series had become the
bible of the "Alternative Society". This started a fantasy revolution.
First, Dungeons and Dragons, a role playing game, was created and soon became
all the rage in the late sixties and early seventies. It still is very much a
part of our society today. Plus, Star Wars was just around the corner and it is
popular belief and even confirmed by George Lucas that The Lord of the Rings
had inspired his movies to a small degree. The public gobbled it up and demanded
more. Tolkien did not like being in the public eye, and it was often said that
"it was easier for a reporter to get an interview with the British prime
minister than with Tolkien" (qtd. In Strider:2). However, Tolkien started
something that could not be stopped. He would get thousands of fan letters every
week and phone calls at any time of the day asking if Balrogs had wings, what
was the complete alphabet of the elvish language, or what was the preterite of
Quenyan lanta- (Doughan: 4).Tolkien could not get out of the
public life and they were always demanding more so he moved to Bournemouth and
began work on The Silmarillion, which took the rest of his life.

While in Bournemouth, he continued writing The Silmarillion. Most of
his time, though, was devoted to his wife, who was now very ill. Despite medical
care and the tireless devotion of her husband, Edith Mary Tolkien passed away on
November 22, 1971. Devastated by her lost, he put aside The Silmarillion and
moved back to Oxford with rooms provided by Merton College. Then, in early 1973,
Tolkien received an award from Queen Elizabeth, the Order of the British Empire,
which was one rank below knighthood. If Tolkien had lived longer, he very well
could have been knighted. Sadly, on September 2, 1973, the Lord of Fantasy, John
Ronald Reuel Tolkien died at the age of eighty-one. He was buried in a single
grave with his wife in the Catholic section of Wolvercote cemetery in northern
Oxford.

Despite Tolkienís death, his fame did nothing but grow. Christopher Tolkien,
his son, took it upon himself to finish writing and editing The Silmarillion
and many other works of his fathers and published them. Much to the surprise of
the publishing company, but not to Christopher, the dozen volumes about the
history of Middle Earth (including The Silmarillion) became best sellers
and sold millions. Sixty-five years in the making, Christopher finished what his
father did not, The Silmarillion.

Eala Earendel engla beorhtast Ofer middangeard monnum sended, Tolkien.
May you live forever in the lands you created. I dedicate this paper in your
memory.